Marla Gibbs Lifetime Achievement Award.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00You live in this apartment, right?
00:03Uh-huh.
00:04And you got an apartment in this building, too?
00:07Yes, that's right.
00:08Well, how come we overcame and nobody told me?
00:14For over five decades, Marla Gibbs has been a barrier-breaking queen in American entertainment,
00:20blazing trails on both screen and behind the camera.
00:24How did my career start?
00:26I came here in 69 and started in community workshops.
00:31My daughter Angela and I found out about Margaret Avery's workshop,
00:35so we went and joined and found out that they were auditioning for The Jeffersons.
00:42And so I went and did an audition for The Jeffersons,
00:45and my agent was Ernestine McClendon,
00:49and she decided that her clients were not being seen the way they should be.
00:54So she wrote a full-page letter to The Hollywood Reporter.
00:59So I went in and did an audition, and it was the first time they paid attention to me.
01:05And by the time I got home, I had the job.
01:08How did it feel to be dead?
01:10What?
01:12Did you get to talk to the devil?
01:15Armed with quick wit and impeccable comedic timing,
01:18Marla Gibbs transformed a one-time guest role on The Jeffersons at age 44
01:23into an 11-season masterclass in entertainment.
01:27Florence, I need a drink.
01:28Me too, and make mine a double.
01:30Her performance led to five Emmy nominations
01:33and helped make The Jeffersons a top-ten show.
01:37Well, it was awesome because we weren't expecting it.
01:41You didn't see black people on TV that much,
01:43and so just the idea that you were auditioning for something to be on television,
01:49the people I grew up with would be shocked.
01:52But bringing Florence Johnston to life was just the beginning.
01:55Making history as the first black woman to executive produce a television show,
01:59Marla broke new ground with 227,
02:02where she not only starred but served as creative consultant.
02:05Oh, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy, that's all over here.
02:08Daddy!
02:09Mary!
02:10Lester.
02:11Sorry.
02:12When network executives pushed to make her character a single mother,
02:15she stood resolute, fighting for and winning
02:18the portrayal of a strong, two-parent black household.
02:21But her influence extended far beyond the screen.
02:24Miss Gibbs created vital spaces for black creativity to flourish.
02:28Marla's memory lanes, her jazz club in South Central L.A.,
02:32was a cultural cornerstone for nearly two decades.
02:35Marla co-founded Crossroads Theater and Acting School with her daughter Angela in 1981
02:41and later acquired the historic Len Murch Theater,
02:44transforming it into the Vision Theater Complex.
02:47Though adorned with eight NAACP awards and honors like Essence magazine's
02:51Woman of the Year, Marla's true legacy lies in the doors she opened,
02:55the stereotypes she shattered, and the standards she set.
02:59She's a visionary architect who built an empire on the understanding
03:02that representation, ownership, and opportunity
03:05are the foundations of black excellence.
03:11♪♪